Final Fantasy

Two weeks ago I reviewed the Final Fantasy Trading Arts Kai Mini Cloud And Squall figures. Today I’ll be finishing this batch by reviewing Yuna. And then it’s time for some wacky figure posing! Continue reading »

Rain and dark clouds accompanied me as I made my way by train to the Hikarie convention center in Shibuya. Upon arriving I was greeted by masses of people, all of which eagerly waited in line for the special Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Exhibition that started yesterday and will come to a close today. Allocating two days for an event meant to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of such a beloved franchise as Final Fantasy ensured people would come en masse and I ended up standing in line for two and a half hours. No biggie; We were given free Final Fantasy Brigade tissues and a nice wallpaper for our smartphones so I soon forgot all about the line. I was told by an all-knowing friend of mine called the internet that the exhibition will be free, but when I reached the end of the line I was kindly guided to the reception table where I was kindly asked to buy the exhibition pamphlet for the nominal fee of 2000 yen if I want to enter. The pamphlet, as it turns out, is an art book, featuring many miniature versions of sketches and concept art that we were soon to feast our eyes on in the exhibition hall itself. The pamphlet (can you even call a 49 page full color bound book a pamphlet?) also contains pictures from the exhibition and was signed on the of the back of the cover by some famous Square Enix Personnel. Continue reading »

Kazuo is busy with his exams so this week I’m filling in for the figure review. Now, I’m a big Final Fantasy fan so I was very happy when Square Enix announced their new Final Fantasy Trading Arts Kai Mini line. This post covers the Cloud and Squall Kai Mini figures, while next week’s post will cover Yuna and present some crossdressing figure posing mayhem. Continue reading »

As promised in an earlier post today I am going to do a quick overview of the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Official Guide Collector’s Edition. There is a little story behind this guide book, and it begins in March 2010 when Piggyback published the collector’s edition of Final Fantasy XIII’s guide book. Piggyback is not a new company, and obviously it wasn’t the only company to release a guide book for Final Fantasy XIII. What Piggyback did, however, was understand that Final Fantasy fans don’t want a simple book devoid of pictures and filled with gray pages of walkthroughs – we have the internet for that! No, Piggyback understood that we fans want a book that will be collectable in itself. They made a superb collector’s edition guide, using premium glossy paper, tons of full-page colored pictures, a hard cover, all the tables and graphs we FF fans so love, and not a page in grey. Continue reading »

I just received my Limited Collectors’ Edition of Final Fantasy XIII-2. As all you Final Fantasy fans probably already know, FF XIII-2 had tons of DLC content and some pre-order bonus items that came along with it. The problem with these DLC and bonus items was that each retailer handed out a different DLC or bonus to those who bought their game through it. This in turn made it harder for Final Fantasy fans to decide where to place their order. To avoid this problem I went ahead and pre-ordered from game.co.uk – the only place that offered (if you pre-ordered) all the bonus content and DLC available…and then some. Now would be a good time to mention that game.co.uk offers only the European version, and FF XIII-2 will probably have lots of DLC coming up, so this deal would have been good only for those of you who have European credit cards. So anyway, since pre-orders are already over here’s an unboxing video of the collectors’ edition for all those interested:

I’m very satisfied with the limited collector’s edition and the pre-order bonus. In fact, the only better version available is the crystal edition (that has the full OST which I don’t need). As for Impressions about the game itself? I don’t have the time to play it yet
I’m also waiting for the Collectors’ Edition of the game guide (I’ll post a separate review for that of when I get it). In the meantime, Happy gaming!

Square Enix has revealed a new line called Final Fantasy Play Arts Kai Mini which feature chibi (petite) versions of famous characters from the company’s well-established Final Fantasy franchise. The first batch includes Cloud Strife from FF VII, Squall Leonhart from FF VIII and Yuna from FF X.

All three figures come with a stand, switchable expressional faces, several props and even text bubbles. Cloud comes with a street sign while Squall and Yuna have a battle menu. Why does Cloud gets a street sign you ask? To accommodate his badass bike of course!

Squall also has access to his formal Seed attire and ultimate weapon while Yuna gets a separate new body for her gunner outfit from FF X-2, which is equipped with her twin guns. Squall even comes with a mini Cactuar and mini Pupu! It seems Cloud’s bike “ate all the plastic” that could have been used for his alternative (Advent Children?) outfit and ultimate sword.

All three will be available in June and come at a very attractive price for what you get, if I might say so myself. Preorders for the three have already opened on Amazon Japan and AmiAmi. As a super hardcore Final Fantasy fan I already secured an order of all three. Considering the popularity of such dolls, as well as that of the Final Fantasy franchise itself, I would advise you to order sooner than later if you feel inclined.